Yesterday I ran in the Les Golding Memorial 10K at Herne Bay, this is the one that was cancelled at the beginning of June owing to a “freak storm”. A new one for me, although I gather it was a regular in the events calendar until 6 or 7 years ago. Revived this year by Nice Work.

I set off on my bike to cycle the mostly off road 12.25 miles to get to the event. It was a nice bright morning and I arrived in good time. The course was to be basically an “out and back” one. Out along the lower promenade, then a fair climb to the upper promenade, and then back, rejoining the lower promenade later, until the finish.

The temperature was a little uncomfortably warm, and the “straight ahead” course a little psychologically daunting. Not like your usual ” up the hill, round the bend, past the village church, through the woods…..” road race.

Still, I finished with a chip time of 51:34 and a position of 93/144.

After the event a number of runners were swimming in the sea to cool off, it occurred to me that if I had a dip and swam 1.5 K, I would have virtually completed a discontinuous 1.5K/ 40K/ 10K triathlon by the time I got home.

After a natter with friends and watching the prize giving, I cycled on home in my VRUK kit, shortly to be hit by a heavy downpour of rain, nothing ever really changes!